Long before the days of smut television and violent video games, it was dreaded comic books that threatened to warp the innocent minds of young Vinelanders.

The danger of comics laden with "horror and sex crimes" sharing newsstand space with Mickey Mouse and Little Lulu seemed so great to some residents that, in 1955, they formed a grassroots group aimed at having the sale of such "objectionable" material banned in the city.

MAD Magazine seemed to be of particular concern and one news outlet spokesman said that he returned his supply after concluding that the publication was not "the right type" for youngsters.

"Yes, we carried one issue (of MAD), but after we received two or three complaints, we stopped handling it," a Vineland Times Journal reporter was told when visiting another store.

William M. Gaines, publisher of MAD magazine, poses at his office desk in New York City, July 1987.(Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

In the spring of 1955, when the issue was a hot topic, the newspaper visited a number of local comic retailers. Representatives from three businesses on Landis Avenue said that they personally checked and returned any material that seemed inappropriate.

Additionally, the paper learned, the publishing industry was "gravely concerned about the appearance of horror-sex-crime books." Most were members of the Comic Code Authority, which monitored content and drawings and gave passing publications a seal of approval.

Stating that the comic book "danger" was likely not as bad as believed, the article noted that, according to one merchant, the only major publisher not a member of the authority was that which printed "Walt Disney ... and other wholesome comics designed for youngsters."

"Members of the so-called Vineland Committee for Decent Literature who may have been discouraged by the report filed by a Times Journal staff reporter in yesterday's edition should reappraise their work and their goals," read a follow-up editorial that week.

"But," it later went on to say, "this should not be a signal for them to relax their efforts, regardless of whether or not there is any city ordinance banning the sale of objectionable comic books."

For "pressure and pressure alone caused the formation of the Comic Code Authority and only constant and unflagging interest on the part of adult leaders will keep the situation in hand."